Streaming Interview: Parker Griggs of Radio Moscow Discusses New Project El Perro
Not much is known at this point about El Perro. Pages on Thee Facebooks and Instagram went up on Wednesday afternoon and there’s a short teaser on the latter with a floating logo and a righteous riff, but not much else to go on. A new band getting together is cool, don’t get me wrong, but the reason it’s news is because the brains behind the outfit happen to be those of Parker Griggs, founding guitarist/vocalist of heavy psych blues and speed boogie masters Radio Moscow. Griggs has assembled the new outfit as a means of exploring some influences beyond what Radio Moscow does, specifically looking to bands who blended funk and heavy and/or psychedelic rock in the early ’70s like Cymande, Black Merda and others in the sphere of what was called Black rock at the time, as well of course as the work Jimi Hendrix was doing a few years prior.
He’s gotten a full four-piece together and they’ll play their first three shows as a weekender at the start of November, beginning as support for none other than Brant Bjork in Las Vegas at a gig presented by Vegas Rock Revolution, and continuing through two subsequent nights in Costa Mesa and Los Angeles. Griggs, of course, is no stranger to touring with Radio Moscow, but it’s early days with El Perro, so probably best to start out with the weekender rather than hit the road for a month right off the bat. Makes sense if you think about it, especially as no one has heard any of the material in question.
There are songs, though. About a set’s worth. I’ve heard two demos from the band with the working titles “New One” and “Sitar Song” and the percussive groove is met by Griggs‘ spacey shred and bluesy vocal delivery. It’s a different vibe from Radio Moscow in that it’s a little more jam-ready — at least “New One” is; “Sitar Song” is a tight two and a half minutes, but damn that’s a funky two and a half minutes — and as Griggs notes, a little more based around the groove rather than the frenetic movement of his longer-running outfit. I’ll take it happily and look forward to more in 2020.
It’s a short interview because, well, Griggs isn’t really Mr. Chatty and the band hasn’t played a show yet, but if you’ve got a few minutes, he talks about putting the band together, what he’s going for with the sound, the upcoming shows and how El Perro relates to Radio Moscow in the grand scheme of Griggs‘ style.
Please enjoy:
Interview with Parker Griggs of El Perro
A brand new cosmic and groovy music ensemble formed and led by Parker Griggs of Radio Moscow. We are here and we’re coming to GETCHA!
First shows!
November 1st in Las Vegas @ Counts Vamp’d with Brant Bjork
November 2nd in Costa Mesa @ The Wayfarer with LOVE (revisited)
November 3rd in LA @ The Viper ROOM with Deathchant
Stay tuned for more news coming soon!
Tags: California, El Perro, Parker Griggs, Radio Moscow, San Diego
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